• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.517-523
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• 2018

Elevated levels of cortisol caused by chronic stress may lead to neuron damage in the hippocampus by activating the glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). In cortisol-deficient animals, corticosterone is known to function as a stress hormone. In humans however, corticosterone is considered a precursor of aldosterone and a glucocorticoid with similar properties to cortisol. Recently, many studies have been conducted on the role of cortisol and other synthetic glucocorticoids like dexamethasone in humans, but the exact function of corticosterone is unknown. This study examined the viability of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells treated with various concentrations of corticosterone for 24 and 48 hr via MTT assay. The MTT-assay results showed that corticosterone had an antiproliferation effect on SH-SY5Y cells at higher concentrations (500 and $1,000{\mu}M$), while in lower concentrations ($100{\mu}M$), it showed no antiproliferation effect. Cytotoxicity analysis of extracts from three medicinal crops (Liriope muscari, Schisandra chinensis, and Wolfiporia extensa) revealed that they all possessed deleterious effects on SH-SY5Y cells depending on dosage. However, it was observed that, at a concentration of $500{\mu}g/ml$, Liriope muscari attenuated the corticosterone-induced antiproliferation on SY-SH5Y cells and restored cell growth after 48 hours of treatment. The study examined the synergistic effect of six mixtures each containing $500{\mu}g/ml$ of Liriope and various concentrations of Schisandra (50 or $100{\mu}g/ml$) and Wolfiporia (10, 30, and $50{\mu}g/ml$). The results showed minor growth-restoration activity but less than that of Liriope muscari only, suggesting that Schisandra and Wolfiporia had no additive or synergistic effects.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.111-122
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• 2014

The present study was designed to explore the antioxidant effect of Bamboo powder and its immunoreactivity in pigs. We investigated the functional properties of Bamboo extracts by means of measuring the contents of total polyphenols and flavonoid as well as determining ABST, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and anticancer activity. The total phenolic compound and flavonoids contents of Bamboo extracts were 171.25 mg/g and 127.5 mg/g, respectively. The DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical, ABST radical scavenging activity of Bamboo extracts were 17.3%, 12.5% and 21.5%, respectively. Evidenced by MTT and cell cycle assay, Bamboo dose-dependently inhibited the cell proliferation and induced G0/G1-phase arrest in CHO cells at concentrations of 100, 250, and 500 ${\mu}g/ml$ Bamboo extracts. More than 80% of apoptotic cells were observed by staining with annexin V in 500 ${\mu}g/ml$ Bamboo-treated CHO cells, indicating that Bamboo had potent anticancer activities. Next, to investigate the effect of Bamboo on cytokine, immunoglobulin concentration, and blood compositions, flatting pigs were fed with Bamboo powder for 38 days. Flatting pigs were divided into 4 groups; basal diet (control), basal diet supplemented with 1% Bamboo powder (T1), 2% Bamboo powder (T2), and 3% Bamboo powder (T3). The level of hemoglobin increased in the all Bamboo-fed groups compared with the normal control group. In particular, platelet levels in the all Bamboo-treated groups increased by approximately 90% compared with the levels from pig on a normal control. Serum levels of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA) in the pigs fed Bamboo powder were modestly increased, and the interferon-${\gamma}$ level also was strongly increased in 2% or 3% Bamboo-fed groups compared with the levels in control groups. Together, these results demonstrated that Bamboo extracts had an effective capacity of scavenging for ABTS, DPPH, and hydroxyl radicals and showed correlation with potent phenol and flavonoid contents, thus suggesting its antioxidant potential. Moreover, administration of Bamboo in 2~3% improved blood parameters and platelets, and especially immunity-related ones such as IgG, IgA, and interferon-${\gamma}$, leading to be potential feed additives in flatting pigs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.1073-1080
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• 2009

A number of studies have demonstrated that the regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can reduce the risks of colorectal, oesophageal and lung cancers. NSAIDs have been shown to exert their anti-cancer effects through inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. The susceptibility of tumor cells to anti-tumor drug-induced apoptosis appears to depend on the balance between pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic programs such as nuclear factor kB (NF-kB), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) and MEK1/2-ERK1/2 pathways. We examined the effects of pro-survival PI3K and ERK1/2 signal pathways on cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in response to NSAIDs including sulindac sulfide and NS398. We show that simultaneous inhibition of the Akt/PKB and ERK1/2 signal cascades could synergistically enhance the potential pro-apoptotic activities of sulindac sulfide and NS398. Similar enhancement was observed in cells treated with sulindac sulfide or NS398 and 100 ${\mu}$M genistein, an inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) that are upstream of PI3K and MEK1/2 signaling. We further demonstrate that NAG-1 is induced and plays a critical role(s) in apoptosis by NSAIDs-based combined treatment. In sum, our results show that combinatorialtreatment of sulindac sulfide or NS398 and genistein results in a highlysynergistic induction of apoptotic cell death to increase the chemopreventive effects of the NSAIDs, sulindac sulfide and NS398.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1054-1065
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• 2010

SH21B is a natural composition composed of seven herbs: Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, Prunus armeniaca Maxim, Ephedra sinica Stapf, Acorus gramineus Soland, Typha orientalis Presl, Polygala tenuifolia Willd and Nelumbo nucifera Gaertner (Ratio 3:3:3:3:3:2:2). In our previous study, we reported that SH21B inhibited adipogenesis and fat accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells through modulation of various regulators in the adipogenesis pathway. The aim of this study was to analyze the transcriptome profiles for the anti-adipogenic effects of SH21B in 3T3-L1 cells. Total RNAs from SH21B-treated 3T3-L1 cells were reverse-transcribed into cDNAs and hybridized to Affymetrix Mouse Gene 1.0 ST array. From microarray analyses, we identified 2,568 genes of which expressions were changed more than two-fold by SH21B, and the clustering analyses of these genes resulted in 9 clusters. Three clusters among the 9 showed down-regulation by SH21B (cluster 4, cluster 6 and cluster 9), and two clusters showed up-regulation by SH21B (cluster 7 and cluster 8) during the adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 cells. It was found that many genes related to cell proliferation and adipogenesis were included in these clusters. Clusters 4, 6 and 9 included genes which were related with adipogenesis induction and cell cycle arrest. Clusters 7 and 8 included genes related to cell proliferation as well as adipogenesis inhibition. These results suggest that the mechanisms of the anti-adipogenic effects of SH21B may be the modulation of genes involved in cell proliferation and adipogenesis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.71-77
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• 2019

Menadione is known as an anti-tumor factor. Many studies have reported the potential anti-cancer role of menadione against a range of cancer cell lines. In this study, the anti-cancer effects of menadione and the underlying molecular signaling involved in apoptosis was investigated in gastric cancer cell lines. The menadione treatment decreased the cell viability of MKN45 gastric cancer cells. The decreased cell viability was attributed to the induction of apoptosis, which was confirmed by the results indicating the activation of caspase-3 and -7 and the cleavage of PARP in Western blotting. The upstream regulatory molecules involved in apoptosis were investigated further and it was discovered that menadione reduced the expression of survivin, an inhibitor of upstream apoptosis proteins. In addition, a transcription factor ${\beta}$-catenin, which is known to regulate survivin expression, was down-regulated by menadione. A previous report showed that menadione inhibited XIAP expression to induce apoptosis and induced G2/M cell cycle arrest in AGS cells. This study elucidated another inhibitory mechanism of menadione against gastric cancer cells in a different cell line. Although further studies will be needed, the inhibitory mechanism demonstrated in this study will help better understand the anti-cancer effects of menadione.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2006

Purpose: The $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}$ protein Inhibits the cell cycle by Inhibiting the phosphorylation at the $G1{\rightarrow}S$ check point, and the $p27^{kip1}$ protein similarly performs the suppressor function by controlling the p27-mediated G1 arrest. In this study, we analysed the clinical status and survival rates in correlations with p21 and p27 expression patterns in gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: Between 1993 and 1997, 192 patients who underwent surgeries in Catholic Medical Center were analysed retrospectively in this study. Immunohistochemical staining was performed and if the nuclei of the tumor cells were stained, we assumed those as positive results. Statistical analysis was based on clinicopathological findings and differences in survival rates. Results: The expression rate of p27 was 28.1% and 15.6% in p21 each. The ratio of T1-2(80.0%) was significantly high in p21 (+), but the ratio of T3-4 (50.6%) was slightly high in p21 (-). There was no statistical significance regarding other factors. The results in p27 was not much different from expression rate of p21 in T-stage. In addition, p27 expression in diffuse type (91.3%) was higher than in intestinal type (62.7%) by Lauren's classification (P<0.05). Also, there was no statistical significance in other factors. In the correlation of p21 and p27, p27 was positive when p21 was positive (53.5%). Conversely, p27 was negative when p21 was negative (76.5%, p<0.05). In the p21 and p27 combination test, there was higher rate of T1-2 (87.5%) in p21 (+)/p27 (+), and higher rate of T3-4 (58.1%) in p21 (-)/p27 (-) (P<0.05). Results showed higher rate of intestinal type (100%) in p21 (+)/p27 (+), and diffuse type (87.0%) was dominant in p21 (-)/p27 (-) (P<0.05) by Lauren's classification. Moreover, there was no statistical significance in the 5-year survival rate in the expression of p21 and p27, and the 5-year survival rate was highest in the case of p21 (+)/p27 (+) without statistical significance. Conclusion: In our study, $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}\;and\;p27^{kip1}$ expressed similar patterns. The expression of $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}\;and\;p27^{kip1}$ affected the degree of invasiveness of the tumor, and. Combined examination result revealed the correlation of $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}\;and\;p27^{kip1}$ with Lauren's classification and depth of invasion of the tumor. However, we assumed that little difference between the survival rates depending on expression of $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}\;and\;p27^{kip1}$ has limited their value as predictable prognostic indicators.